TheCount's Absurdly-Early Mock Draft

This is insanely early and I haven't really had a chance to get into the prospects yet, so I'm sure this will be the first of many mocks on my part, but why not?

Round 1: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
I was one of those that were extremely high on DeCastro last year (I'm similarly high on Chance Warmack this year) but it's hard to justify taking an OG over an OT in the first round in terms of value. If we happened to take Warmack, I wouldn't sleep any worse. Those of you that miss Colombo's mean streak will enjoy watching Matthews play, if you haven't already. Matthew's is the best run blocking OT in the draft, something we desperately need help with. He's also from pretty good football stock.

Round 2: Sylvester Williams, DE, North Carolina
I had been thinking of Williams as a potential NT, but the more I see of him, the more obvious it is that he's a DE not a NT in the 3-4. Like A LOT of UNC prospects, consistency of effort seems to be one of the biggest questions about the kid but his athleticism, quickness and strength are among the best for this class of DT's.

Round 3: Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
If we keep Felix, then you can forget this one but I'm ready to move on. Barner is a great compliment to Murray and was supremely productive at Oregon. He can also contribute on special teams, but hopefully whomever the OC is would find ways to get him on the field as the kid is lethal in the open field.

Round 4: Brandon Williams, NT, Missouri Southern
He's a DII prospect, so I don't know that this answers the NT need right away but Williams is prototypical NT size at 6'2" 330. He's a 3 time AFCA All-American and picked up MVP honors at Missouri Southern and leads the school all-time in sacks. Last year there were questions about Dontari Poe's production given his competition, Williams won't have that problem at least.

Round 5: Omoregie Uzzi, OG, Georgia Tech
I know, waiting for the 5th round to address guard sucks but honestly there are some FA's I'd take a look at and my mock just happened to fall this way. I've seen Uzzi (how great a name is that by the way?) ranked all over the place, so there's a chance he's gone earlier than I have him here. It's also worth noting he's a bit on the smaller side, which may be fine if we are going zone blocking full time, but he's probably not a guy that's going to just man handle a guy in the run game.

Round 6: Michael Mauti, ILB, Penn State
It's time for the Torn-ACL special. Mauti meant a heck of a lot to Penn State, as he's one of those guys that stood up for the school and the program in the face of the Sandusky disaster. Unfortunately for the guy, he suffered his second knee injury (one on each knee) of his collegiate career to close out his time at Penn. In honor of Mauti, the program put huge decals (some would say, too huge) on their helmets. Beyond all that, Mauti is a very good player... when he's healthy.

Round 7: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
Boy did Klein go out with a wimper. He self destructed up on the biggest stage as he pushed to keep pace with Oregon's monster offense (sound like someone you know?) but the kid has some game and can scramble when things break down. Someone may take a chance on him earlier, but if he's here at this point in the draft then why not bring him in to be the 3rd QB?

This is insanely early and I haven't really had a chance to get into the prospects yet, so I'm sure this will be the first of many mocks on my part, but why not?

Round 1: Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
I was one of those that were extremely high on DeCastro last year (I'm similarly high on Chance Warmack this year) but it's hard to justify taking an OG over an OT in the first round in terms of value. If we happened to take Warmack, I wouldn't sleep any worse. Those of you that miss Colombo's mean streak will enjoy watching Matthews play, if you haven't already. Matthew's is the best run blocking OT in the draft, something we desperately need help with. He's also from pretty good football stock.

Round 2: Sylvester Williams, DE, North Carolina
I had been thinking of Williams as a potential NT, but the more I see of him, the more obvious it is that he's a DE not a NT in the 3-4. Like A LOT of UNC prospects, consistency of effort seems to be one of the biggest questions about the kid but his athleticism, quickness and strength are among the best for this class of DT's.

Round 3: Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
If we keep Felix, then you can forget this one but I'm ready to move on. Barner is a great compliment to Murray and was supremely productive at Oregon. He can also contribute on special teams, but hopefully whomever the OC is would find ways to get him on the field as the kid is lethal in the open field.

Round 4: Brandon Williams, NT, Missouri Southern
He's a DII prospect, so I don't know that this answers the NT need right away but Williams is prototypical NT size at 6'2" 330. He's a 3 time AFCA All-American and picked up MVP honors at Missouri Southern and leads the school all-time in sacks. Last year there were questions about Dontari Poe's production given his competition, Williams won't have that problem at least.

Round 5: Omoregie Uzzi, OG, Georgia Tech
I know, waiting for the 5th round to address guard sucks but honestly there are some FA's I'd take a look at and my mock just happened to fall this way. I've seen Uzzi (how great a name is that by the way?) ranked all over the place, so there's a chance he's gone earlier than I have him here. It's also worth noting he's a bit on the smaller side, which may be fine if we are going zone blocking full time, but he's probably not a guy that's going to just man handle a guy in the run game.

Round 6: Michael Mauti, ILB, Penn State
It's time for the Torn-ACL special. Mauti meant a heck of a lot to Penn State, as he's one of those guys that stood up for the school and the program in the face of the Sandusky disaster. Unfortunately for the guy, he suffered his second knee injury (one on each knee) of his collegiate career to close out his time at Penn. In honor of Mauti, the program put huge decals (some would say, too huge) on their helmets. Beyond all that, Mauti is a very good player... when he's healthy.

Round 7: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
Boy did Klein go out with a wimper. He self destructed up on the biggest stage as he pushed to keep pace with Oregon's monster offense (sound like someone you know?) but the kid has some game and can scramble when things break down. Someone may take a chance on him earlier, but if he's here at this point in the draft then why not bring him in to be the 3rd QB?